“The time has come for a new ring”. These words spoken by Talion at the end of the adventure of the first Shadow of Mordor had predicted it: a new ring was needed to thwart Sauron and his rise to power. And that's exactly what our fallen hero and Celebrimbor, his life-spectrum, are doing when Shadow of War launches. By forging this virgin ring from the spirit of Sauron, since he has never worn it, our two heroes increase their chances of overcoming the Dark Lord and his evil plans. Obviously, it was to be expected, things do not go as planned and this new ring will become the envy of many envious people, starting with Sauron of course, but also Arachne (Shelob in VO) who will play a major role in history. It is moreover this giant spider – guardian of Cirith Ungol's pass, and which appears in the game in the guise of a femme fatale (hats off to the illustrator who managed to make the character a being to both attractive and disturbing) – who will succeed in getting his hands on this new ring, depriving Talion of many powers. By introducing new characters well known from the Lore of The Lord of the Rings, Monolith Productions seeks above all to fill the scriptwriting gaps of the first episode. A writing effort that fans of Tolkien's original work will appreciate at its fair value, if of course they accept the freedom taken by the studio. But we do not doubt for a moment the openness of the latter.
SHADOW IS LIGHT
With a more present scenario, Shadow of War has therefore not skimped on the cutscenes, more numerous of course, and which above all allow to introduce some twists and turns to keep the player in suspense. It's also an opportunity for the game designers to expand the universe and no longer limit Talion's verbal interactions to Orcs and other Uruks. Humans now hold an important place and our warrior will even be able to forge links with some of them. This friendship is not limited to cut-scenes since Talion can also call on soldiers to support him during combat. A new feature which intervenes quite quickly in the adventure and which translates into the possibility of summoning teammates by pressing the right arrow of the directional cross. Help that is also not refused, as the enemies are numerous and particularly sticky, not to say intrusive. Like the first episode, the Orcs and other Uruks will not let go of you, even going so far as to climb the steepest walls to dislodge you from your hiding place in height. If Talion can call on teammates whenever he wants, be aware that you are nevertheless subject to a cooldown of several minutes if they ever die in combat. Speaking of which, these support soldiers may not be enough to take down a captain, but they can at least serve as bait to give you time to breathe.
In the same way as human soldiers, Talion can call on these powerful Orcs at any time during the adventure, keeping in mind that if they die in battle, they will be lost forever.
Of course, if it is pleasant to call on human teammates to make the fiesta as crazy as possible, the player expects only one thing from this new feature: to call on Orcs to make the clashes become more epic. This is obviously one of the new features of Shadow of War, which allows you to enlist enemies to make them allies. If Talion can turn the brain of any average enemy by putting his mark on it, as was already the case in the first episode, he can also summon Orc Captains to help him in his conquest of Mordor. A feature that is an integral part of the new Nemesis system, but above all takes its time to appear. You will first need to have spent a few hours of play before accessing this power, in Act 2 precisely, when Talion gets his hands on his forged ring at the start of the adventure. For players who have sanded the first episode, having to type 5/6 hours of play before finding a power already acquired in Shadow of Mordor can be frustrating. This is clearly a storyline pirouette on the part of Monolith Productions to simply justify removing the power of submission, forcing the player to start from scratch. We can imagine that it would have been complicated, video game speaking, to offer us a Talion in top form from the start of the adventure, but this choice of game design could only be divisive for regulars of the series.
THE ORCS, FRIENDS FOR LIFE
In the same way as human soldiers, Talion can call on these powerful Orcs at any time during the adventure, keeping in mind that if they die in battle, they will be lost forever. It is therefore up to the player to make his choice when assigning him a task (Fight by my side, Become my bodyguard) to prevent him from finishing KIA (Killed in Action). That said, before seeing an Orc Captain pass from life to death, we have a fairly comfortable period of time to heal him, especially since the maneuver only takes a few seconds. More advanced than before, the Nemesis system truly becomes one of the lungs of the gameplay of Shadow of War, which has been considerably enriched thanks to new possibilities. Because if enlisting an Orc seems to be the ideal solution to build a good army, Talion is also free to kill them by finishing them off at the end of a confrontation, to banish them or even to lower them in level by humiliating them. . This last option turns out to be one of the most interesting of the new "Nemesis System" in the sense that each unkilled Orc keeps in mind what Talion inflicted on him in physical and even psychological damage, referring to the famous punchline “Nothing will be forgotten”. Cut off a limb and he will no doubt come back with a prosthesis, more enraged against you than ever. By humiliating him, we can obviously make him a beast of a fairground until he is driven mad, but be aware that a humiliated Orc that we have subsequently decided to assign to our ranks can perfectly betray us afterwards. A result of our actions that can turn against us in the middle of a battle, for example. It seems surreal to say like that, but this kind of game design has been wonderfully well thought out in the game, so that the Orcs become real enemies in their own right, even unique, as the creators of the game keep hammering it. .
More advanced than before, the Nemesis system truly becomes one of the lungs of the gameplay of Shadow of War, which has been considerably enriched with other possibilities. Because if enlisting an Orc seems to be the ideal solution to build a good army, Talion is also free to kill them by finishing them off at the end of a confrontation, to banish them or even to lower them in level by humiliating them. .
This unique character is also amplified by the dubbing (favor the VO) of the actors who, like the first episode, have done an exemplary job to bring these Orcs to life. Not only does their British accent give them a casual side, bordering on class in certain aspects, but in addition, each of these enemies has often tasty dialogues that allow you to get to know them better. It is in this sense that the game manages to soften us in the face of these beings, however filthy, but who sometimes do not lack humor and repartee. In terms of design, Monolith Productions has also done a very nice job of offering a very wide range of different Captain Orcs. In the continuity of the first episode, these enemies have been the subject of special care and it is not uncommon to take your time to contemplate their modeling and identify their physical characteristics. If we have fun most of our time going in search of these supreme leaders, it also happens that they set ambushes for us, without us having had time to see the blow behind the back of the neck. . All this contributes to making the ecosystem alive and even more immersive. The designers did not hesitate to go further by integrating new companions into Talion, without forgetting to refer to former supporters of the first episode. The players of the first episode will appreciate and will be all the more surprised by the return of certain protagonists. As you will have understood, if the developers have taken the interactions between Talion and the Orcs further, it is to bring us slowly towards the second half of the game, which consists of launching assaults on fortresses.
TEAM FORTRESS
Widely shown and detailed through various gameplay trailers and on the occasion of demos at shows such as E3 and gamescom, the assault on fortresses is undoubtedly the big novelty of Shadow of War. It's kind of the culmination of the new Nemesis system, since once Talion has enough minions under his belt, he can then start attacking his fortresses where Overlords, Warbosses and other Captains are hiding. In fact, it is quite possible to launch an assault in the crudest of ways, that is to say by constituting a sufficient army to attack the ramparts and penetrate inside, hoping not to to be crushed by the enemy, often outnumbered. But there are other ways to achieve victory, by trying different approaches. It is indeed possible, for example, to infiltrate the enemy ranks, by sending Orcs to play spies and thus promote the capture of crucial points, used to access the Supreme Leader who is systematically located in the throne room. It is also in these moments of infiltration that you have to choose your spy carefully, avoiding, for example, sending an Orc that you would have humiliated a little too much before.
In fact, it is quite possible to launch an assault in the crudest of ways, that is to say by constituting a sufficient army to attack the ramparts and penetrate inside, hoping not to to be crushed by the enemy, often outnumbered. But there are other ways to achieve victory, by trying different approaches.
While infiltration is a good time-saving tactic, it's entirely possible to call in ferocious beasts to be effective in combat as well. We obviously think of the Caragors, but also of the Graugs and the Drakes, dragons that can be ridden and whose aerial attacks cause heavy damage to the enemy. As you will have understood, the assault on fortresses is something that is prepared upstream, capable of occupying several hours of play depending on your ability to build your army. For your information, it took us between 7 and 8 hours of play before we could launch our first assault, knowing that to keep this somewhat exceptional character, the developers have limited the number of fortresses to only one per region. With 5 areas to unlock throughout the adventure, Monolith Productions forces the player to go through all the necessary phases for the preparation of each assault, which is clearly not a bad idea in itself. This is all the more a great find on the part of the developers since these attacks on fortresses breathe an epic dimension into the clashes, something that was perhaps missing in the first part.
BIG FLOW ET HOLLY COMBAT
The other strong point of Shadow of War lies in its combat system. Largely inspired by the "flow combat" of the Batman Arkhm series, Monolith Productions has above all been able to improve the formula to make it today the ultimate reference, which would make any hero of the Assassin's Creed series jealous. Between the combos to customize as you wish, the finishes on the ground, the executions, the counters, the dodges, the jumps in the back, the slides on the ground, but also all the spectral strikes that can also be combined with others ranged movements and attacks, the game offers mind-boggling gameplay possibilities. As usual, the skills are unlocked gradually according to the experience points acquired over the course of the adventure. It's up to the player to make his choice, either by favoring the frontal attack, the powers generated by Celebrimbor, submissions, ranged blows and so on. So that the accustomed player has the impression of renewal, the developers have thought of varying the moves since the first episode, while preserving the DNA so that we find our marks fairly quickly. Some may blame him for the lack of lock which can be disturbing during brawls where dozens of enemies get involved, but it is generally enough to point in the right direction to target the desired opponent. All you need is a little skill.
The other strong point of Shadow of War lies in its combat system. Largely inspired by the "flow combat" of the Batman Arkhm series, Monolith Productions has above all been able to improve the formula to make it today the ultimate reference, which would make any hero of the Assassin's Creed series jealous.
To these new skills is added the possibility of riding more critters. We talked about the Drakes above, these famous fire-breathing dragons, but you can also ride on the back of giant trolls, Graugs and even more massive creatures, which you can tame by stabbing them in the back. A rather violent practice, but which testifies to the atmosphere which reigns within Mordor. In this regard, The Shadow of War is nonetheless a violent game where you butcher and decapitate the enemies without the slightest remorse, all in a scent of hemoglobin (unfortunately) of black color. And to be honest with you, it's just super enjoyable! But that's not all, Shadow of War does not forget the loot either, which will allow Talion's weapons and equipment to evolve. This time, the development studio has planned a wider range of outfits, further evolving the look of our Ranger according to the pieces of armor collected on the battlefield. We also find the same annoying bug of the first episode, namely that Talion systematically appears with his first outfit in the cutscenes, which means that the game will never take into account the evolution of our warrior's clothing. We'll have to think about correcting this nonsense for the third episode, huh...
WAR IS STILL GREAT
If Shadow of War has found the right ingredients to considerably enrich its gameplay and establish itself as a trustworthy sequel, it is nevertheless not free from flaws. Technically, for example, the game displays the same shortcomings that it already dragged in the first episode, with graphics that blow both hot and cold. If Talion and the Orcs benefit from a detailed and very well worked modeling, the game remains quite uneven in its environments. If we are well aware that Middle-earth is not the most appropriate place to offer us landscapes of absolute splendor, we would still have liked more endearing decorations and which above all do not give the feeling of have been duplicated over several square kilometres. Nevertheless, Monolith has made an effort since the first episode, by offering more varied locations. Between the cities populated by Humans, the fortresses stuffed with Orcs, the expanses of forests and the snow-capped mountains, there is still a desire to make us travel more. Nevertheless, the graphics engine used shows its limits, with textures that are not always very clean, clipping problems (even on PS4 Pro) and certain animations of Talion (in particular the race) which are a task for a game released at the end of 2017 It's all the more regrettable that Shadow of War is not a real open world, in the sense that you can roam freely wherever you want from the start of the adventure. Like the first opus, you have to unlock regions that unfortunately do not communicate with each other. To change region, we must absolutely go through the fast-travels, these teleportations which of course allow us to save considerable time in travel. Finally, it is still necessary to have purified the towers which precisely make it possible to pass from one point to another.
Nevertheless, the graphics engine used shows its limits, with textures that are not always very clean, clipping problems (even on PS4 Pro) and certain animations of Talion (in particular the race) which are a task for a game released at the end of 2017 .
Let's finish this test by mentioning the online component. It remains minor in Shadow of War and is primarily limited to vendetta missions that will appear when you are near an area where a player has died. You will then be offered to avenge him by participating in the search for the assassin, then granting you a substantial loot in the event of victory. Similarly, players can also share their fortresses with the whole world so that they become, why not, references in terms of assaults. In short, not enough to break an Uruk leg, especially since the game remains above all a solo experience. As for micro-transactions, if they were debated when Monolith started talking about them, know that they remain totally optional, especially since the chests can be perfectly purchased via the in-game currency. Again, no need to play the outraged, the developers have in no way sold their soul, and especially their game, on the altar of excessive marketing, rest assured.
